A String of Beads. This item is unavailable.A String of Beads

Young readers will enjoy bold, dramatic illustrations and the simple math concepts at work in the charming story that captures the pleasure that a little girl and her grandmother get out of their bead collection.

How the illustrator created artwork for A String of Beads.
Hello, I am Ashley Wolff, the illustrator of A Sting of Beads. When I was given the manuscript for this story, I really didn't have any idea how much research and work would eventually go into illustrating it. Six fascinating months later, I knew a great deal more about the lore and history of beads than I ever thought I would. I created the artwork for this book by painting watercolor paper with black gesso. I then did the paintings with gouache, or opaque watercolor. The black backgrounds allowed me to silhouette the beads in a very dramatic way. My favorite page is the one that shows perhaps the "first" bead. A little girl wearing a necklace she has made from a shell with a hole already in it. Now I cannot wait for visits to my Northern California beaches to look for shell "beads" and to string them as I walk along.